We stopped by Common Grounds because it is just around the corner from Broadway Street in New Haven. This cafe is so beautiful. They have several natural wood log tables and stools. Additionally they also have some regular tables and chairs. They had a large assortment of delicious cakes, as well as salads and wraps. I got their Banana Bread Latte. We also got a slice of their Chocolate Tuxedo Cake to share. My Banana Bread Latte was very tasty. It was very creamy and frothy with obvious notes of cinnamon and banana. I was a bit disappointed that such a beautiful cafe only serves their coffees in to go cups. The Chocolate Tuxedo Cake was also packaged in a to go container. This could have used a bit of time outside the fridge, as parts of it were very hard, basically frozen. Despite that, it was a delicious chocolate cake. Another thing to note, should you need to use the restroom, one of the ladies behind the counter will personally escort you with a key in hand. Some minor adjustments would be appreciated to make Common Grounds a five star experience. read more

See all

Great espresso, overnight oats and the best biscotti I have ever had - fantastic selection, not only of biscotti and beverages but a wide variety of baked goods The person behind the counter is always warm and friendly. The atmosphere is very comfortable and relaxed. Love the interesting Elm City decor. read more

See all

It seems crazy to go from five to one stars. But after a nice visit last week, my coffee today was undrinkable. They were very nice but it was a complete waste. Can't stomach drinking it and will need to caffeinate somewhere else! read more

I love this local café!! There's plenty of seating, so it's perfect for students or anyone with a laptop. I ordered a cappuccino and a chocolate cookie I highly recommend them, they're amazing. The employees are friendly and attentive. If I lived in New Haven, I'd probably be here every day. read more

Common Grounds - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

They have a nice selection of baked goods and drinks. Their muffins are delicious, always moist and fluffy. The coffee is great for an afternoon pick me up. Limited seating inside so more of a grab and go situation but the central location makes it a great spot to stop by! Staff were friendly and prepared our coffee quickly. read more

Common Grounds - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

I ordered a coffee and a biscotti to go but didn't really pay attention to the size of the latter until much later. My god, what a massive cookie! Coffee was fine. Service was friendly. The biscotti, despite its size, was pretty underwhelming. read more

About time I stopped by common grounds. I've passed by so many times but never went in. It's a cute coffee shop with lots of dessert, coffee options, and seating. I had ordered a white chocolate mocha latte but it appeared to be a mocha latte, by the color. I asked if it was white chocolate and they confirmed. Still yummy, just more of a mocha flavor than white chocolate. read more

Common Grounds - Iced white mocha latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

See all

Eh... muffin was okay. The walls are pained just just most heinous red/orange color. This place is not cozy & just screams diabetes with the size of the baked sweets. The wall with the menu was perhaps meant to be quirky and unique but is just overwhelming and not helpful at all. And the fact that I, as a paying customer, can't even use the restroom is just ridiculous. read more

The inside is nicely decorated and clean. There are 2 tables by the window and also additional seating just around the bend. I ordered a large, unsweetened raspberry iced tea for $4. It was good and really large and service was friendly. They also offer some desserts and pastries. Seems like a go to neighborhood spot. I would give 3.5 stars. read more

See all

This coffee shop is the little gem of New Haven. It is truly the cleanest, most well stocked and maintained business I give my money to . Elizabeth the Manager is always on the floor making sure every customer is well taken care of. She is truly the heart of this place. All the staff is so well trained in their craft, friendly, professional and knowledgeable. The display cases are the cleanest I've seen anywhere and always well stocked with a variety of savory and sweet options. The coffee is always hot and off the charts smooth. The line moves fast but you will never feel rushed. Well done to Elizabeth and her team I suggest the : Caramel Macchiato and any of the biscotti!!! read more

Good coffee, horrible service. We were trying to browse the flavors but were rushed. The employee was rude and just asking "any else" with an attitude when ordering our drinks. We decided to get a wrap after we had paid for our drinks so we went up and the worker rolled eyes. read more

Big place, nicely displayed, too bad the coffee is shite... Nothing more to say following are just to fulfill 85 characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Lattes here are so bad time after time. I had one good one a year ago and since then they've been so syrupy with barely any coffee taste. Actually not drinkable- Unfortunately it is the only coffee shop in the vicinity....They need to do some recipe improvement asap read more

I love good coffee. It's the first thing I look for in a new town when traveling. Now, on the rare occasion I find myself in Branford, I usually go to the Common Grounds on Main Street. Twice now I've tried to get a cup of coffee at 7:15 am at this new York Street location. And twice the location is locked shut, with no posted hours on the door or in any of the windows. According to the Shops at Yale site, the shop is open from 7am to 9 pm daily. Apparently not. I did have a cup of black coffee here late one afternoon and it was fine. New Haven is a great coffee town, this sort of fell in the middle. Not bad, hardly the best. The staff seemed nice enough. The pastry cases were well stacked. There were some very odd and uncomfortable looking tree stump stools in the front to sit on, and the side room seems unchanged from when it was Blue State Coffee last year. Wish I could say more...but it's tough when two out of three visits are marked by a locked door. read more

Common Grounds - the location of the common grounds - Coffee & Tea Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

I am REALLY surprised about the large number of people giving it a 3 star rating or less. When I looked at the reasons for not liking COMMON GROUNDS, it was because of stupid observations other than the quality of the coffee and service. I have traveled all over these United States and have found COMMON GROUNDS to be consistently the best coffee shop! The shops are well decorated and pastries are delicious and baked daily. read more

A solid place if you're in a rush and would like to get some caffeine. Their cup is ginormous! I got a regular but it feels like a Venti. The whole place smells really good with roasted coffee. They also have food or snacks that you can grab on the go. The workers are nice and efficient. They don't have a wide variety of drinks but I just like to go for a regular coffee because everything else isn't as great! read more

See all

This location is the former home of Blue State Coffee which before that was Koffee Too (really miss that one). Great tiramisu. Good selection of teas. I've been to the Shelton location on Bridgeport Avenue, which is a bit cozier than this one. I hope they invest in some chairs or a couch at the York Street location to make it feel more like a coffeehouse. read more

very fast, kind service, and solid food! beware that the vanilla chai is very very sweet, and not very flavorful. the macchiatos and other iced coffee options were very good though! they have a lot of options for breakfast, ranging from muffins and scones to parfaits and overnight oats. the apple cinnamon muffin was really good, and was big enough to be 2 serving sizes. solid for a chain store. read more

See all

I will not spend $ here again. When my husband and I asked where the restroom was while placing our order the staff member pointed in the direction of the restroom. The restroom signs were covered by tape and were locked which she was aware of. When he returned unable to get in she got the key out to walk him there. This was rude and unnecessary on her part. When I called her out on it and said you should have told us it was locked she just gave a smirk and didn't apologize. RUDE! FYI it was not busy. No one was in line. She must have been too lazy! read more

My favorite Common Grounds!! Everyone here is super pleasant and efficient. The place is simple but nicely decorated with cute little log table and chairs in the windows. Can get crowded due to the college crowd read more

Charging fifty cents for a plastic cup for tap water is a bit much. Having the highest tip possible as the default on the device on which credit cards are swiped is presumptuous, especially because payment is made BEFORE the service is rendered and hence can be assessed. The opportunism is not limited to this. It is also interesting that the manager does not post the store hours in effect during the Yale recesses, when business is less active. Employees (perhaps as directed by the proprietor, who leases from Yale) not only put the "Closed" sign on the door twenty or even thirty minutes before the shop actually closes, but also regularly decide to close early if business (during the recesses) is slow, and with little notice to customers who have already made a purchase and are in the shop's seating area. "Just to let you know, I"ve decided to close in fifteen minutes" is the typical line, even though the posted hours show otherwise on the store window. Once during a recess when I was ordering a coffee, I asked when the shop will close. The employee undid her own answer 20 minutes later because business was slow. read more

I work practically next door to this shop so i gave them quite a few tries. The coffee is terrible. Ive tried regular, iced, and lattes. Literally undrinkable. The take-out food is underwhelming at best. Deserts are not tasty. Hard tree stumps half the size of my *ss in place of chairs. ??? I gave up. I gave a second star only because the young people who work there are nice. Ish. read more

I had such high hopes for when they replaced Blue State, but their coffee is worse (though still not terrible). The pastries are literally from Costco (I saw them take them out of labeled Costco plastics with my own eyes). I really tried and got a scone once and it was drier than the Sahara. read more